The Perfect Heist Trick and the Ice Princess's Shadow
I'd discovered the perfect trick for stealing that painting from the suspiciously reasonable art gallery. But there wasn't enough space to write it down here. Actually, there was plenty of space. It was just that I had to head to the academy right now, so I couldn't pull it off immediately. Phantom thieves only operated under the moonlight at night. During the day, I lived my life as an upstanding academy extra.
The usual daily routine. The only slight difference was that I now had a chatty friend by my side.
"What're you staring at, you dweeb."
For the record, that wasn't aimed at Rachel. She was a bit too ambiguous to call a friend—more like a fated rival, if I had to label it.
"Kro! You're early today."
"Hey, Yulia."
Yeah, the friend I meant was Yulia. Just listen to that gentle tone. What a stark contrast to Rachel's a moment ago. Of course, it was just Yulia's angelic personality shining through—she was kind to everyone.
I exchanged some light chit-chat with Yulia. Rachel, propping her chin on her hand and feigning boredom nearby, chimed in now and then as morning classes approached.
"What? You ditched me yesterday and went straight to meet Yulia?"
"Yeah, we bumped into each other at the art gallery by chance."
"Playing the field now, you dweeb?"
"What the hell."
Was that baseless jab really meant to be funny? Seriously.
[Stupid boy. It's obviously jealousy disguised as a joke.]
The stupid one was the Goddess, blinded by harem delusions until her brain turned to mush. That thug, jealous? It'd be more believable if Yulia was secretly moonlighting as a phantom thief every night.
We were in the middle of our three-way banter when our eyes met with Layered, the original story's protagonist, walking toward us from up ahead.
That look in his eyes. Super unsettling. This had been happening a lot lately—ever since our last sparring match, to be precise. Layered seemed to have fully bought into his conspiracy theory that I'd thrown the fight on purpose.
No, dude, you just lost because you're a talent-stacked protagonist. Why pin it on me?
I let out a deep sigh, and Yulia tilted her head curiously.
"What's wrong? Something happen?"
"Nah, it's nothing."
A seriously ominous vibe washed over me. My gut told me the protagonist was about to make my life a headache soon. I hoped it was just paranoia.
Anyway, time marched on, and before I knew it, classes were over and it was homeroom time. That's when Yulia gathered our entire group of four.
Wondering what was up, I waited quietly for her to speak.
"Guys, I have something to say."
Yulia opened with a far more serious tone than I'd expected.
"What's so heavy you gotta call us all in like this?"
"There's something I want to add to our presentation."
Ah, that topic. I recalled our conversation at the art gallery yesterday. Yeah, no wonder it wasn't easy to bring up casually.
"We already finalized the presentation content."
"What is it?"
Sharon's low voice cut in. She'd been the one organizing the assignment and presentation details, so it was basically her call single-handedly. Yulia's role, on the other hand, was just presenting up front. Strictly speaking, this addition strayed from her original duties.
"I have an older sister who's like family to me, and she got help from Raven."
"...Huh. What kind of help?"
"He donated a huge sum to the church she belongs to."
Rachel snorted derisively, her expression sour.
"Wow, donating stolen cash and all. Guess that thief's headed straight to heaven when he croaks."
"I get what you mean. It obviously looks bad. But my sister was in real need of money, and thanks to Raven, she got through it safely."
Even hearing it firsthand as the culprit, it was a tough ethical knot. I couldn't boldly tell Yulia she was wrong, but I couldn't say the people who saw it as wrong were mistaken either.
"No wonder you acted weird when we picked our topic last time. A Raven stan, huh? And a church cleric at that. Impressive."
Despite Rachel's biting sarcasm, Yulia didn't flinch. She stood her ground, resolute in saying her piece.
"I'm not a Raven stan. I don't think he's a good person for sure. I just want to share objective facts with people, like Sharon said. If you all oppose it, I'll go with the majority."
In a situation like this, I should back her up first. After all, I'd brought it up initially.
"I'm for it. Sounds good to me."
Now it was down to the other two. Sharon, who'd been listening quietly, nodded soon after.
"Yeah. If it's true that Raven did it, then it's fine."
"So that's three to one?"
"Hey, dweeb. I never said I was against it."
What now? She'd been arguing against Yulia's idea just moments ago.
"I was just testing our leader. If she had biased feelings toward the thief, it wouldn't fit our presentation's goal, right?"
Hmm. Sounded reasonable enough... but coming from Rachel, of all people, could I trust it? Maybe she just enjoyed picking fights with anyone for kicks.
Anyway, Yulia's idea passed unanimously. Maybe relieved at how smoothly it went, her face brightened considerably.
"Thanks, everyone, for understanding! I already told my sister, so we can do the interview today."
She'd even set it up already?
"Damn, you're quick on the draw. What if we'd said no?"
"Hmm, I'd probably have nagged until you gave in. Hehe."
Her sheepish laugh didn't sound like a joke. Considering the tenacity Yulia showed in the original story, it was totally plausible. Being kind didn't mean lacking backbone. Angry nice people were scarier, after all.
"I'll sit out the interview, though. Me jumping in might ruin the neutrality."
"It's just a group project, and you're being this thorough?"
"Better thorough than half-assed, right?"
So that meant heading out with Rachel for the interview today? Recalling her impulsive outburst last night already had me drained. Our chemistry was just off.
"I have plans today too."
"For real?"
"What, dweeb? You that happy about it? Making me feel bad."
Of course I was thrilled. Better solo than stuck with her.
"Then I'll just go alone to—"
"I'll come too."
Sharon cut me off, declaring her participation.
"You too?"
"Yeah."
"You could rest. I can handle it solo."
Sharon's green eyes gleamed as she replied to my question.
"Curious. Why Raven helped."
She had that stubborn look. No choice but to nod and accept.
"Alright. Let's go together, then."
"Ooh, dweeb and bookworm duo? Not bad, actually."
"Rachel. I've been meaning to say—calling friends names like that isn't cool."
"Ugh... Fine, no nagging. You're not my mom."
Our group was lively, alright. I still couldn't wrap my head around how these members ended up together.
After classes ended, Sharon and I headed to the church Yulia had mentioned. I glanced sideways at her. As always, her expression was impassive, like a grave.
Come to think of it, this was our first time alone together. The mysterious aura, the cold and aloof ice princess vibe. Even our classmates hesitated to approach her unique presence. Sharon was a pretty peculiar character all around.
I wondered why she had zero screentime in the original story. Maybe she played a big role in the unpublished later parts? If anyone could pull it off, it'd be her—didn't seem out of place at all.
"Hey, Sharon."
"Yeah."
"Any reason you picked Raven?"
Truth was, I'd been wanting to ask this for a while. No good opportunity before, but now that we were alone, it felt like perfect timing. I went for it.
"Yulia said it. Obvious wizards are boring."
"That's the only reason? Because Raven's a fresh pick no other group would go for?"
"Need more?"
Fair point—hard to argue there. And it wasn't a weird answer. Who else fit the bill for a novel wizard other groups would dodge? Not because he was obscure, but due to the controversy risk, sure.
So why did other doubts keep bubbling up in my mind? That suspicion had nagged me since I first saw her emerald eyes.
Why had she, of all people, chosen the phantom thief Raven?
What if... she was the detective Sherlock?